Tura MDC and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president Bernard N Marak has accused the Meghalaya government of grabbing A’king land from the Nokma in Tura without due process and against the Nokma’s consent.
“The state government under the Chief Ministership of Conrad Sangma seems to be in a desperate attempt to grab land from Tura in complete violation of the rights of the people and not acknowledging the fact that this is a hill area under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution,” said Marak in a letter to Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma.
He said the state government continues to target the poor population that voted for the BJP and suppress the rights to avail any facilities from the central government, claiming the land as General Administration Department land without proper acquisition.
“The state government is not tribal and it cannot grab tribal lands without proper acquisition. The rights of the hill people have been grossly violated in the past by grabbing land from the aching area without Nokma’s consent and proper acquisition,” the MDC, a frequent critic of the state government, said.
The CM is the sitting MLA for South Tura but his constituents often face difficulties in availing central government schemes because the state government claims the land as its own.
“The lands which were grabbed illegally by the government are from Nikwatgre to Walbakgre 1046 bighas, ITI campus area measuring approximately 91 bighas, de-reserved area more than 150 bighas, Sepoy Colony and now recently, the government attempting to grab the land of the Leper Colony, which measures approximately 390 bighas,” he added.
